Xavier Niel is what we call a serial entrepreneur. Known mainly for the creation of Free, the businessman is at the head of a veritable telecoms and media empire. Over the years, he managed to build one of the biggest fortunes in France. Focus on the inspiring journey of this entrepreneur.
A brief overview of Xavier Niel’s career
Before we delve into the depths of Xavier Niel’s journey, here is a brief summary of the great achievements of this billionaire entrepreneur. Xavier Niel made his debut in the world of entrepreneurship by creating Pink Minitel services, then investing in various peep shows and sex shops.
In 1999, Xavier Niel founded Free and became the first provider to provide telephony, television and Internet services using the same box. He is also the co-owner of the Le Monde group. In addition, the businessman is behind the opening of school 42 as well as the Station F project.
The academic career of Xavier Niel
Xavier Niel attended Pasteur College, then the private Catholic college of Maillé located in Créteil. He completed his high school years at the private establishment Saint-Michel-de-Picpus, in Paris. Once his baccalaureate was completed, he began a scientific preparatory class at ESME Sudria. However, Xavier Niel did not complete his preparatory class, preferring to enter the business world in 1987, at the age of 20.
Pink Minitel: Xavier Niel’s first success
While he was still a high school student, Xavier Niel created pink Minitel services, this is his first feat as a young entrepreneur. Then, he decided to invest in various peep shows and sex shops.
In 1997, Xavier Niel made the decision to stop his studies in order to launch a pornographic services business via Minitel. Subsequently, in collaboration with Fernand Develter, the two partners bought Fermic Multimedia, which he later renamed “Iliad” and which subsequently became the parent company of Free. This first entrepreneurial move brought him several million francs. But the businessman didn’t stop there!
In fact, he decided to buy a press license with the aim of becoming a service publisher, but took advantage of this to set up various commercial services. Thanks to this sleight of hand, Xavier Niel became a millionaire at the age of 24. A few years later, he bought the shares in Fermic Multimedia from Fernand Develter and renamed it Iliad.
Xavier Niel and the Internet
Xavier Niel is passionate about IT and technological innovation, so it was only natural that he began to be interested in the arrival of the Internet in France. In 1995, he invested in the leading Internet service provider in France, Worldnet. Company that he sold a few years later for the sum of 40 million euros.
In 1999, Xavier Niel launched his own Internet access offer by creating his subsidiary Free. But the businessman decided to develop, through the same line, a telephone, television and Internet offer via the same box (a “triple play” offer). However, the technology of the time does not allow this to be achieved, at least for the moment… This is the invention of the Internet box. An innovative concept at the time. The first Freebox was released on November 1, 2002 and its success was resounding.
Xavier Niel, press and media boss
Xavier Niel is also a press and media man. Indeed, in 2010, he invested in several startups linked to online information, such as Médiapart, Ateme and Deezer. The same year, the businessman joined forces with Pierre Bergé and Matthieu Pigasse to take control of the daily newspaper Le Monde, through a recapitalization of the Le Monde Group.
A few years later, Xavier Niel bought, via his personal holding company, the Nice-Matin Group, he also owns 11% of the daily newspaper La Provence. In 2020, he bought the France-Antilles newspaper as well as the horse racing daily Paris-Turf.
Xavier Niel and startups
Over the course of his life, Xavier Niel has invested in hundreds of startups across France. Indeed, according to The Echoesvia his investment fund Kima Ventures, launched in 2010, the businessman is said to have invested in nearly 800 startups. His best-known investments include Uber, Devialet, Sorare, Snapchat, Alan, Airbnb, and many others.
The creation of Station F
Xavier Niel is at the origin of Station F, an incubator for startups located in Paris, which opened its doors in 2017. He is also the sole investor in this project. Its objective is to allow start-ups to benefit from a flexible working environment and quality services, while giving them the opportunity to connect with other companies and benefit from advice from other entrepreneurs. Station F is now the largest incubator in the world and hosts nearly 1,000 startups.
Xavier Niel, creator of schools
In September 2011, Xavier Niel joined forces with Jacques-Antoine Granjon, Alain Malvoisin and Marc Simoncini to create the European School of Internet Careers. Convinced by the capacity of the digital sector to create jobs in France, he initiated the creation of several schools.
This is how two years later, in 2013, Xavier Niel announced the opening of school 42, an establishment intended for programming and technical digital professions, accessible to all, without qualification requirements. In addition, the training is completely free and financed 100% from your own funds. Building on its success, Xavier Niel opened an American campus of School 42 in Silicon Valley a few years later. The businessman and entrepreneur is also behind the creation of Ferme-écoles Hectar and invested in Albert School.
Xavier Niel’s various investments
Thanks to his success in the business world, Xavier Niel has enjoyed some pleasures. Indeed, the billionaire notably bought back, with other investors, the rights to Claude François’ songs. He is also the owner of an English thoroughbred named Cirrus des Aigles who, during his career, won nearly 8 million euros in competition winnings.
How rich is Xavier Niel?
But then what is the fortune of the boss of Free? According to the media ForbesXavier Niel would be the eighth richest person in France. He has a fortune estimated at $8.9 billion. His fortune has increased by more than $800 million in just one year. Its launch on the B2B market, its rise to prominence in Italy and even its withdrawal from the Paris Stock Exchange, have meant that Iliad has undergone numerous changes which have proven to be positive.
Xavier Niel and French justice
In addition to his various entrepreneurial successes, Xavier Niel has experienced some legal setbacks. For good reason, he was indicted and then placed in pre-trial detention at the Health prison in 2004, for a case of aggravated pimping and concealment of abuse of corporate property concerning one of his peep shows. Finally, an order dismissing the case will be issued.
In 2006, this time, he was sentenced to two years’ suspended imprisonment and a fine of 250,000 euros for concealment of abuse of corporate property. In 2008, Xavier Niel attacked the newspaper Libération and more particularly the journalist Renaud Lecadre for defamation; he was ultimately ordered to pay damages for abusive proceedings.
